Elaboration of a rest index for a sewing post in a clothing industry

Abstract

The textile industry of clothing causes professional diseases in particular the musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). The application of the culture of technical ergonomics and the methods of ergonomic analysis is to reduce the risk of the diseases. The main objective of this study is to elaborate a rest index which allows giving a recovery period for the sewing post to reduce the risk of MSDs. The method of experimental designs is used to find a model which contains the parameters: the force multiplier, the frequency of technical actions per minute, the posture multiplier and the recovery period multiplier. Then the analysis of results was done by MINITAB Software. The method of General Sewing Data is used to analyze the gesture of the technical actions. The standard ISO 11228-3 is used to determine the posture analysis and the recovery period multiplier. Then, the force analysis is realized by the Borg Score. The model proposed is statistically significant (p value = 0), representative (R2 = 96.5%) and validated according to the predictor Fisher test. The practical study was made in two companies of clothing to validate the rest index which varies between 1.14 and 1.22.